Interview. Monument of football in La Manche, Jacques Largouët recounts his years at SM Caen

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It is a monument to Manche football.

Shape at AS Tourlaville before exploding under the colors of AS Cherbourg, Jacques Largouët (79 years old) then performed ten seasons in Division 1 (Rouen, Sochaux, Bordeaux) before to complete his career at SM Caen (Calvados). He tells.

You spent the last two seasons of your professional career in Caen. Is it a good memory?

A very good memory! After having toured in D1 – I was already over 30 years old – I expressed the wish to return to my region of origin. I asked the Caen leaders if they had room for me and they welcomed me. I had two great seasons in Division 2, with very interesting players like Manchois Jean-Paul Pottier.

At the time, there were mainly Normans in the workforce…

Absolutely, there was a real regional identity. Personally, I felt this need to represent my region. I was proud to be from Caen, happy to defend the colors of the flagship club of Lower Normandy. I consider myself lucky enough to be able to play at Malherbe during my career. Even when I was in Bordeaux or Sochaux, I always looked closely at the results from Caen. And Cherbourg too…

“SM Caen must regain its true standing”

Are you still a supporter of SM Caen?

Yes, I'm still watching… But I'm unhappy when I see the results. A club like Caen should either be in Ligue 1, or fight at the top of the table in Ligue 2. It's a club with a real audience, real popular fervor. Already, in my time, we played in a packed Venoix stadium.

We feel nostalgic for the good times of the club…

A little yes. It's still a shame that the club has fallen so low (Editor's note: 16^e of League 2). It's a shame for Caen and for all of Lower Normandy because, when things work well, it's the elite who pull everyone else up behind them. When it works, it unites an entire region. We saw it at the time when AS Cherbourg almost moved up to Ligue 2. It was not all Cherbourg residents who were behind their team, but all of Cotentin, all of Manche. And Postaire was full! We must hope that SM Caen regains its true standing, this will benefit all football in the region.

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